CAREYSBURG, Montserrado – When an artificial turf was installed at the George Weah Technical Center in Careysburg, it created an opportunity to form the eventual champions of the Liberia Football Association’s Orange Cup.
Shaita Angels, previously a kickball team, had to transform into a football team to continue using the pitch after it was outfitted with artificial turf in 2017 through support from FIFA.
Women’s football remains a new phenomenon in Liberia, as kickball remains a more popular sport among Liberian women. However, the Shaita Angels kickball team knew they had to transform into a football team or return to playing on a rocky surface.
“We built the turf for football,” explained G. Nelson Meanyeah, LFA’s stadium manager. “When I arrived, I saw that they were about to practice kickball. I halted the training and told them the facility can only be given to them if it’s football. Otherwise, they can continue practicing kickball elsewhere.”
Happy to promote more women playing football, Meanyeah said he decided to help the new team: “They needed football equipment. I spoke with [then LFA technical director] Henry Browne and told him about the girls’ decision. He, too, was excited and decided to participate in the project.”
He said the team quickly formed its technical staff from among the residents of Caryesburg, including Rusfus Kolo and Edwin Knuckles.
A few months later, the team was registered in the women’s lower league in 2019 to compete in the 2019-20 season. As it was Careysburg’s first representation in the female football league, he said the city’s residents were eager to see the outcome. However, the COVID pandemic cut football activities short.
The following season, Shaita Angels surprised everyone by getting promoted to the top-flight league in their first full competitive year. They finished second in the women’s second division in 2020-2021 and booked their spot in the 2021-22 women’s top flight.
After a month in the top flight, the club engaged businesswoman and influencer Benita Urey, a Careysburg resident, to serve as its vice president. With no prior football experience, Urey accepted the challenge.
She told The Bush Chicken, “It was a way of giving back to the community – the place I’m from – and empowering women through sport. I didn’t hesitate to take on a new challenge.”
However, Urey’s first season with the club was a disaster, and the Angels were relegated to the lower league. Although many were disappointed, Urey saw the relegation as a blessing to start from scratch.
“I don’t like to lose, and I took the relegation as a challenge to do something different,” she said. “I saw the relegation as the chance to win the second tier and return to the top flight with a better team to compete.”
Shaita Angels’ President Benita Urey (center) celebrates the Orange Cup trophy with fans. Photo: T. Kla Wesley
By the end of the 2022-23 season, the team made a significant return by clinching the women’s lower tier after winning 18 matches, drawing three, and losing only one of the 22 league games. Shaita’s striker, Erica Parsons, finished as the top scorer with 33 goals in 22 league games. Goalkeeper Albertha Pratt won the league’s best goalkeeper award following 15 clean sheets in 22 games. Meanwhile, Malusu Blama won the league’s best midfielder award.
Not only did they clinch the lower-tier championship for the season, but the Careysburg-based club also reached its first-ever Orange Cup final, losing 2-1 to Determine Girls. The results allowed the Shaita Angels to return to the top flight.
Back in the top league, the club signed key players before the kickoff of the 2023-24 season: Nigerian defenders Chichi Nwaigwe, Judith Ousuagwu, and Grace Keke; Ghanaian midfielder Mary Nunoo; and Liberian superstars Cynthia Weah and Miatta Morris.
In addition to the new signings, Urey was announced as the club’s CEO and president, and Monroe Winn was appointed as the new head coach.
Winn’s appointment was surprising because he previously managed the DC Shooters, which was relegated to the second-tier league after a poor performance. However, Urey said her interactions with Winn and the recommendation by Henry Browne, the club’s co-founder, sealed the deal.
“From interaction with him, he appeared to be someone to rely on,” she said. “His football knowledge was somehow different from few I’d met. We [Shaita Angels] had him around for the remainder of the 2022-23 seasons, and he helped a lot in most of the decisions that helped us win the league and reach the cup final. When I spoke to Mr. Browne about him, I was told to go ahead. Mr. Browne described him as one of the young smartest coaches he’s come across in Liberia.”
Winn kicked off the season on a promising note following a 5-0 win away at Blanco Football Club, and the future looked bright for the newly structured Shaita Angels. They went on to finish second behind league champions Determine Girls and make it back to the Orange Cup final.
Back-to-back finals for the Angels meant they were the favorites over the second-division World Girls. At a packed Antoinette Tubman Stadium, the club from Careysburg did not disappoint and won its first cup title following a penalty shootout win over World Girls.
The Orange Cup victory was head coach Winn’s first competitive club trophy.
He told The Bush Chicken, “When you invest so much like the club did this season, you should be able to deliver as a manager. We missed out on the league and we got the Orange Cup. Now, we have to build on this and push for more success in the new season,” the coach told The Bush Chicken.
Benita Urey celebrates with players after winning the Orange Cup. Photo: T. Kla Wesley
The Future of the Club
After a successful campaign, club president Urey now has bigger ambitions. Her new target is to end the Determine Girls’ dominance of women’s football in Liberia and to bring the CAF Women’s Champions League trophy to Liberian soil.
“All my life, I’m optimistic about accomplishing bigger things,” Urey said. “When I came on as vice president, the club was a laughing stock in the top tier. Two years after that, we won the second-tier title and the cup title. Those are just the beginning of what I want to achieve with this club.”
Speaking on the success the Determine Girls have built, she said, “They have established themselves as one of the best clubs in the history of Liberian football. They worked and got there and we are working to get there. We have made significant progress in the last two years, and this season, we eliminated Determine Girls from the Orange Cup. It showed we are on the right path and we will continue on the right path.”
Before the end of the season, the club transferred one of its top stars, Miatta Morris, to Uzbekistan’s top-tier side, FC Sogdiana. She became the first player to leave Shaita Angels for a foreign club. Morris was the club’s leading scorer with 21 goals when she departed for greener pastures, but Urey was optimistic that she could sign more talents to keep performing at a high level.
“When I came over as vice president in 2021, one of my priorities was to give the girls the best opportunities,” she added. “I believe in women’s empowerment, and it’ll give me more joy to see my players leave to play professional football. Miatta [Morris] was our best player when she left. We still accomplished our goal. This is football – players will come and go, and we are aware. Like Miatta, we may export some of our best talents and bring in some talents before the season starts. We want to compete, and we have to invest.”
Having shown what it is capable of, football watchers expect much more from Shaita Angels in the 2024-25 season. They lived up to expectations in the 2023-24 season but must keep up and improve standards to continue making history.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley
